Moment missing monkey caught after smell of Yorkshire pudding gets him captured

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Moment missing monkey caught after smell of Yorkshire pudding gets him captured
Moment missing monkey caught after smell of Yorkshire pudding gets him captured

This is the moment a missing Japanese macaque was finally caught after five days on the run as it is reported he was coaxed in by the smell of a British staple - a Yorkshire pudding.

The monkey escaped from the Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig, Scotland, on January 28, sparking a massive search for it. Drones and thermal imaging technology were deployed to try and find him. After eluding capture for five days, he was finally caught. The monkey wasn't in the forest or causing terror in a public area, but had actually settled down in Stephanie Bunyan's back garden.

As Stephanie settled down in her summer room for a lovely cup of coffee, when she noticed a monkey staring at her through the window. Completely baffled by the sight, Stephanie and her husband, Howard, called the searchers while they watched, open-mouthed, as the animal sprinted across their roof.

Moment missing monkey caught after smell of Yorkshire pudding gets him captured eiqrtiqkuiezinvHonshu spent five-days at large (PA)

In the interview with the Press and Journal, Stephanie said she had to “double take”, explaining: "I often get the odd pheasant looking into the window, so I did a double take as I knew something was there – and it was him looking in the window at me. He hopped along the wall outside up onto our barbeque that’s under the window, looked in our bay window and hopped up onto the roof. We were trying to get him into a position where he couldn’t run so far. Eventually, it worked. There is a valley gutter, and he soon learnt that if he got there, we couldn’t reach him. It was lovely as we had only ever seen them at the wildlife park. He was a little bit wary, but he wasn’t scared.”

Moment missing monkey caught after smell of Yorkshire pudding gets him capturedThe monkey ran onto the roof

The couple believe the monkey may have been attracted to the smell of Yorkshire puddings. Howard confirmed: "Stephanie had put out last night a cold Yorkshire pudding, and that was all gone this morning. He did leave us a little present, so he has certainly been eating.”

Gales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gustsGales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gusts
Moment missing monkey caught after smell of Yorkshire pudding gets him capturedStephanie couldn't believe her eyes when she spotted the monkey (Stuart Wallace/REX/Shutterstock)

The rescue team swiftly arrived at the house, utilising their drone to pinpoint Honshu's exact location. Upon finding the monkey, they shot him with a sedative dart. The monkey was subsequently taken into the park's medical centre for a full evaluation from vet Rebecca Amos.

To the delight of the entire Kincraig Community, who were phoning day and night with potential sightings, Honshu was in "fantastic shape." The vet said: “He seems to have suffered no ill effects. He is actually in fantastic shape. He’s in the recovery pen, but he is moving, and he is conscious. He looked a little discombobulated to be back in the cage but he has responded remarkably well, all things considered, because he covered some ground.

Moment missing monkey caught after smell of Yorkshire pudding gets him capturedThe monkey was caught in a net after being hit with two darts

“He has a small wound on his arm from where the dart was. That has been cleaned and stitched up, and we have painted his fingernails, which is something we do to distract monkeys from picking at their wounds.”

James Sweetnam

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